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The Village Project - Creating Sustainable Communities Catherine Connolly, Rex Urwin and the Mind Matters Team have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Balinese people over the years and bring the beauty of their life philosophy into their Ancient Wisdom program held in Bali each year. To express their gratitude and acknowledge the wonderful contribution made by the Balinese, Catherine and Rex, and many others in the Mind Matters community, have sought ways to help a local village maintain their cultural and environmental ecology through self-sustainable commerce. In the past this assistance has included the purchase of equipment for organic farming and composting, paying for local children to attend school and sponsoring children to learn traditional dance and music.
The project has expanded into a model of sustainable growth that respects and upholds the ancient cultures while learning new ways to be self sufficient. For ecological and privacy reasons the real name of The Village will be protected. The Vision for The Village ProjectThe Village is located 30 minutes outside Ubud in the heart of Bali. The elders of the Village consult with Mind Matters and they decide what type of assistance will be best for the village. Their wish is to educate their children and teach them the importance of their culture and heritage. They also desire to see the village create and sustain an income from farming, using environmentally safe and nurturing processes such as recycling, organic principles, waste and water management.With the help of Mind Matters, the current focus of the project is to provide an English teacher for the village. Funds were raised to help provide teaching resources, and for Tanya Cross to stay with the village and teach English to the local adults and children for three months beginning in September 2007. Tanya Cross, one of Mind Matters’ graduates, visited The Village in October 2006 on the “Ancient Wisdom” program and was touched and excited about the possibility of being submerged in the Balinese way of life and to teach English. Tanya is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children in need. She has a Diploma in TESOL and is currently completing a Bachelor of Applied Social Science in Counselling. "Every child on this planet deserves to have every opportunity in life to reach their dreams and potential. This current project is about creating opportunity in the lives of Balinese children to help them reach their full potential while maintaining their rich cultural heritage", says Tanya Cross. "The initial focus of this program will be The Village in Bali, where the Elders have requested an English teacher to create more opportunity for the children of the village. It is a program that incorporates fun, imagination and valuable life skills."
The aim of the project is to have a volunteer English teacher on the ground at the village year round. The vision is to extend this program throughout villages in Bali. As such, the teaching program is called “Footprints Matter” and was launched in September 2007.
Donations to assist the the village can be made online by using this link: With much gratitude Catherine, Rex, Tanya and the Mind Matters community
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